1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates to automatic systems for removing liquids from gas producing wells.
2. Description of Prior Art.
Gas wells often produce liquid in addition to the desired gas. This liquid is normally water, but may be oil or a hydrate. The liquid enters the well casing along with the gas from the surrounding formation. When production pressures are low, significant quantities of liquids accumulate at the bottom of the casing, and may significantly reduce or even shut down gas flow from the well. The casing pressure is greater than the tubing pressure and present methods usually operate on this pressure differential. However, present systems use the pressure differential to determine when and how long to dewater the well, and invariably during the dewartering process the well is vented to the atmosphere, allowing the loss of substantial amounts of gas to the atmosphere. GANDY, U.S. Pat. No. 3,266,574 uses a timer in conjunction with a pressure defferential sensor to determine when and how long to dewater the well, but the liquid discharge and gas entrained or trapped therewith escapes. Furthermore, GANDY is much more complicated, then the present invention, thus demanding more maintainence. The present invention has the advantages of simplicity, virtually no maintainency, and savings of gas.